Panaji, Sep 3 (IANS): Ahead of a warning by the India Meteorological Department about heavy rains in the state over the weekend, Goa's state appointed lifeguard agency has cautioned tourists and beachgoers against taking selfies in marked danger zones.

In a statement on Thursday, lifeguard agency, Drishti Marine, has urged beachgoers to steer clear of rocky areas along the coastline and cliffs and not to wade into the sea waters, which are expected to be choppy.

"It has been observed that a number of visitors to the beach are scaling rocky areas and cliff tops in an attempt to get photographs to share on their social media profiles. Many of the images and videos posted online are located at extremely dangerous locations amidst steep rocks with jagged edges, areas with loose rocks and locations prone to rip currents and fierce waves," the statement issued by Drishti's Executive Director Ravi Shankar said, adding that such trends could cause serious threat to visitors.

"IMD has predicted very heavy rainfall for the next few days across Goa. Visitors to the beach are advised to not enter the sea as the sea conditions are expected to be extremely rough," the statement also said, adding that danger zones as well as no-swim zones had been marked with red flags along the coastline.

The state has over two dozen 'no selfie zones', mostly along the coastline. The zones were first plotted after a spate of deaths of tourists while taking selfies along Goa's beaches in 2018.

With travel restrictions easing after Unlock 4.0, Goa has been witnessing a trickle of inbound tourists to the state.